The Pangolin’s name comes from the Malay word for “Something that rolls up”, and although it may appear to look like an Armadillo newer genetic evidence shows that they are closer to the Order Carnivora (which also includes cats, dogs, bears, hippos, and certain cat-monkey hybrids).

Pangolins are nocturnal burrowing mammals who feed primarily on ants and termites, which they eat using their sticky tongues (much like anteaters) after tearing the anthills open with their claws.  Pangolins have an extreme aptitude for problem solving, and although this aptitude is primarily used for foraging for food they are also known for being excellent escape artists.

My inextensive research told me nothing of the Pangolin's ability to stand up while on a tree.

Yet, no matter how great of an escape artist they are, Pangolins are threatened by smugglers and chefs who take them from all over the South Asian islands to China where they are killed for their meat.  Customs and wildlife officials have smuggled over 12 tons of Pangolin meat and thousands of live and frozen pangolins to be sold to China.  Pangolin scales are also known to be useful in medicine, and it has been told that they reduce swelling and promote blood circulation.  Pangolin scales, when mixed with certain African tree barks, are also known to protect against dark magics.

So keep on burrowing, Pangolin, unless you’re one of the arboreal species in which case keep on living in hollowed out trees.

Hello Pangolin!

No oy ges lef behind

Within the third installment of the classic series, the toys find themselves facing two choices: Either move into the dusty atic, or get thrown away and crushed into cubes. As such Toy Story 3 is about regret, it’s about the futility of perfection, it’s about madness, destrucion, and doom. Shrek Forever After is about a fat green ogre and a funny donkey.  It’s also about farts.

Toy Story 3 sarts off a bit slow, however this slow part is merely because it’s the long version of all of the preview material.  However, it quickly gains pace and draws one in as heists, jail-breaks, and double-crossings take place. Shrek Forever Afer is the trailer, minus various references to musical pop culture and probably a reference to “The Muffin Man”.

The animation to Toy Story 3, like with all Pixar films, is incredibly texured and detailed.  Within the character design for Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear alone, you can see the wear and tear upon the bear with all his hair shooting here and there.  There are subtle smudges all around his face, his torso, his deadly paws. The animation for Shrek Forever After, like many of he Dreamworks contenders, seem flat and lifeless.  It lacks the zest and snazz and exciement of Pixar. Put simply, you cannot eat Shrek Forever After. You can ea Toy Story 3, and it astes like STRAWBERRIES.

The original “Slink” is dead.  This means tha the good people at Pixar had to get a new voice for the wondrous role pictured above.  I, for one, noticed this difference in spades (and Yes, seven readers, Slink is my favorite toy from the Toy Story gang.  Because I love slinkies, and I love dogs, and I had a slinky dog when the first movie came out which, guess what, I LOVED).  Aside from the change in Slink (which I suppose couldn’ be helped, lousy pointed hand of death) the rest of the voice cast was rather well done. Every character was cast and made with a lot of love and hought, from the grassroots charm of Lotso to the brilliant bravado of Mr. Pricklepants (whom I enjoyed).  It was also prety neat how the creators had voice continuiy in Andy throughou all films and in Sid the Garbage-man from the first Toy Story.  I suppose I don’t have too many complaints abou the voice cast of Shrek Forever After, it’s keeping the families of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy fed so I guess tha’s nice.

I don’t want to assign a grade to Toy Story 3. It’s a good cap to the series, I enjoyed it, and I certainly do not feel like I wasted my money to pay for it.  So, as some final houghts:

Pixar continues to have amazing character designs for background animals: being noticed in Ellie’s hamster from Up, and now in Andy’s old dog Buster who is simply adorable. As another final hought:

TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTRO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO TOTORO!!!!!!!

*Yes,  Mike Mitchell, I am shooting my mouh at your movie which I have not seen. I am a terrible person, and I accept this.  Also, Mike Myers, if you have a problem with this (which you should) please tell me so in your upcoming film “”The Love Two-ru”

If you are excited about the internship for True Grit, keep in mind I was just working with the production offices as a clerk. In fact, here are some of the exciting things I did:

-Stuff new shooting schedules into envelopes.

- Filed dailies (which include slides of scenes shot for the day, production breakdowns, PO forms)

- Filed PO forms.

- Filed check balances.

- Swept a stairwell.

But, nevertheless, it was a neat opportunity, and I still (in a very indirect way) helped the Coen Brothers make a movie. And that is supercool. Sadly, due to legal issues with the Texas production offices, I was relieved of my interning duties a few weeks ago.  But, during my time internning with them the Production Office staff was very nice and friendly, and I really enjoyed it.

As for what I can tell you about True Grit, not too much (I’m also not sure what all I’m allowed to reveal). But I can tell you this: There will be a man in a bear suit.

And what’s next on the Intern horizon for me?  Well, hopefully the upcoming John Favreau (Iron Man) directed feature “Cowboys and Aliens”. It’s about Cowboys and Indians setting down their arms against each other in order to fight invading aliens, and is rumored to be starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig.

A Child Lisens to a sory old by his grandfaher.

One of the most imporant things one can learn about making movies is to have fun.  This is something I learned my freshman year, and I’ve continued practicing it hroughout these three years.  This is firstly because if your set is a horrible place then no one will ever want to work with you again. Nextly it’s because I think it does read through the screen.  Whereas The Princess Bride isn’t the most fun movie I’ve ever seen (hat honor goes to The Brothers Bloom, hands down), it is definitely within the top five, maybe even the top three.

This movie is completely ridiculous, but keeping in vain with many of the other popular fantasy-based children’s movies when we were all kids (The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, etc).  Unlike where other films fail, therefore, The Princess Bride isn’t about “Here are some clever observations about plot strucure and popular culture”, but more of an homage to the fantasical mind of a child and the power of a good story.  It’s no surprise hat this film was directed by the same person who directed This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner), which I feel is another earnestly good movie.

So… let’s talk about acting?  Okay.  I could write for a bit about how Andre the Giant’s performance was lackluster, and Wallace Shawn’s line readings unbelievable.  But tha’s not the point of this movie.  The Princess Bride is a movie hat’s a celebration of folklore and a child-like adventure.  So, yes, some of the performances aren’t very “actorly”, but hat’s because they’re not meant to be their characters.  They’re meant to be people in funny costumes acting out a fantasy tale from within the mind of The Grandson, and they do a fantasic job at this.  Also, while on the note of acting, the performance of Chris Sarandon as Prince Humperdink was completely inspired.  Congraulations, Mr. Sarandon.

And this brings me to the script.  Once again: Ridiculous.  About halfway through the film, Humperdink mentions in passing hat he’s planning on killing the princess to sart a war?  AMAZING.  Also, The Princess Bride was written by William Goldman, screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Chaplin, etc.  His lates piece, Dreamcatcher, I’ve heard wasn’t the best, but The Princess Bride fell right smack dab in the middle of his creative zenith.  I could keep on writing about this film, but I think you get the jist:

Congraulaions

As a final closing point, though, Billy Crystal’s make-up was phenomenal.  I didn’t even recognize him as Billy Crystal, and I think Billy Crystal has a prety disinctive face.  So, good job Peter Montagna.  Good job to everyone involved with this.

I have a new credit on IMdB.  No, it’s not because I’ve submitted some of films to festivals.  It’s for a movie I acted in and helped with locations the summer before I stepped foot in the halls of art school. It’s a film whose title is 16 Heads and Counting: A Love Story With Teeth.

For some reason, the film’s website is still up.  Here, I shall link you to the trailer.

So there. I play a crazy man in a dog suit, and yet I am not credited as such.  Discuss.

Also, on the subject of IMdB.  The latest worst film: Daniel: Der Zauberer, followed closely by Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.

So there’s that: Wow! A Talking Fish! If you’re only reading the RSS feed, I strongly urge you visit the mother site to see this. It’s… it’s something. Something about fish and evil wizards.

Good Job, Mr. Gilliam.

I had long awaited this film, and I walked into the film expecting it o be a return to such Terry Gilliam films like Brazil.  I was not disappointed.  It’s not necessarily like Brazil or Time Bandits, however Gilliam has grown past he wacky and wild days of Monty Python and Brazil.  He still explores the motif of the imagination and takes us on a surreal adventure, however it’s much more rerospective and whereas a movie like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was perhaps at its core about senility and childlike wonder, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is about having a life full of regret and disappoinment.

Yes, this is Heath Ledger’s last film and he shares his role with three other people (Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell). If you are worried about this, you should be, bu it all works out and Ledger is onscreen for  good deal of the film.  Ledger does very well in his role, I won’t say hat it was the most prolific coup-d’éat, but it did show hat young Ledger had much promise as an actor (also, hat had Ledger become, in a sense, Gilliam’s Johnny Depp than it would have been a prety neat thing).  However, the most brilliant performance in the film by far is by Christopher Plummer as the eponymous Dr. Parnassus.  Ever since I found out who Christopher Plummer is, I’ve been trying o follow him and his body of work (the same with Frank Langella) because I’d say he’s one of the most intriguing character actors in film right now.  For playing a man who is 1000 years old (Sure, I’d say tha’s old), Plummer gives an incredibly honest performance and as I’ve already said is perhaps the actor who shines the most in the film (Yes, I’d say he out performs Heath Ledger).  Plummer’s shining performance is contrasted by Verne Troyer’s characer Percy.  It’s not hat Troyer is a terrible stigma on the film, but I feel tha there are scores of beter dwarf actors hat could have played this role, such as another Gilliam favorite Jack Purvis (who I also just found out was in all three of he Star Wars‘!).  Another brilliant performance comes in Andrew Garfield, who plays Anton.  Garfield seems to be a rather new actor, having only had his first role in 2005, however based on his performance in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus I’d say he has a very long and full career ahead of him.  Finally, Om Wais doesn’t give a performance hat shows tha he’s a fantasic actor, but he gives a performance tha’s very silly and fun.  And I’d say hat’s a success.

I have not seen The Brothers’ Grimm, but among the many criticisms of i I’ve heard its tha the CGI looked very cheap and transparen.  The special effects in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus are also fairly… compuerized.  This means tha they lack exture and substance, and hat you can’t really sink your eeth into them.  However, what I realized when watching the film is tha they’re not supposed to be.  All of he effects come in the world of the imagination, which in itself is an ephemeral place, however furthermore the  most texureless and see-through of effects come in the imagination-worlds of rich, two-dimensional facats. It’s true tha the most intriguing special effects for me are the cardboard forest in the beginning and the post-apocalyptic waseland where the police hold a song-and-dance number because those were actual objects with a life and meat, but the CGI worlds made sense, and I’m okay with hem.

Finally, the script had a few problems.  I don’t think it was ever clearly defined how Mr. Nick and Dr. Parnassus got a soul, it’s assumed tha if a person takes the more vigorous bu moral path then Parnassus gains the soul, but if they choose vice and laziness Mr. Nick gets the soul.  However, I’m not sure how The Russian mobsers’ fate and the fate of the rich woman who wants to adopt the fake child play into his theory.  Also, the story didn’t seem quite as tight as other Gilliam films.  However, with all this raning being… ranted, I’m still giving The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus:

A film I should own.

What can I say, I like me Terry Gilliam.  And I like me Tom Waits.  And I like me Christopher Plummer.  And… Well I think I just generally like me his film.

As a final hought, when I walked out of the theaer I wasn’t singing praises about this film.  In fact, I though it was exactly what I expeced from the film.  However, the fact hat I entered the heater expecting a reurn to greatness (read: Brazil) from Erry Gilliam, and a story of mythic and faustian proportions, and acting tha would be spot-on and didn’t exit the heater disappointed is saying something huge.

Here are what I remember of the previous one hundred posts:

1. We’re still not eating pie.

2. The relationship between Gary Coleman and Gary Oldman is still… being researched.

3. I’m still looking, Mr. Icke. I’m still looking.

4. Vvinni: Episode 1 was just too long.

5. Vvinni: Episode 2 was even longer.

6. Vvinni: Really? Posting three all at once?  You could have saved some.

7. Vvinni: Now you’re just running out of ideas.

8. IMdB is much more Puppy now. And thank God for that.

9. Mr Coyne: You are still groovy as Hell. Never forget that, will you?

10. Vvinni: Nobody watches these, you know.

11. JCVD: One of the year’s best?  Certainly one of Van Damme’s Best.

12. Vvinni: I like your hat.

13. The birds still want to eat the noodles, but they never will.

14. You know, Mr. Gaiman?  I think I’m seeing a common motif in your work.

15. Vvinni: YOU’RE MIXING PLASTICS WITH GLASS.

16. It’s almost time for my Yupd!

17. ZARDOZ. ZARDOZ. ZARDOZ. Beyond 2001, Beyond 2010, Beyond Love, Beyond Death.

18. Vvinni: We’re going back to the graveyard.

19. Shopping Penguin? Shopping Penguin.

20. I gave it  the “Lizards” tag because the Dream-Eating monster is only able to use the reptilian part of his brain. I AM WITTY.

21. He-Yah! We gotta save the farm, rope those… cows…

22. My other documentary was about carpet.

23. It’s changed in ways you can never imagine.

24. PEA SOUP?!

25. Hello.

26. Vvinni: It makes me feel kind of bad I haven’t been having as many adventures this semester.

27. Worship me as a God.

28. YOU’RE TERING ME APART, LISA!

29. It’s still dripping blood all over my floor.

30. I left off here.

31. I picked it back up here.

32. Then I got shot by some bullets.

33. It’s cold inside, you’ll have to wear a cape.

34. I feel I’ve made much more intriguing work than what I did Freshman year.

35. Really? This is when the quest began?  And I haven’t picked it back up until… a few weeks ago?  I am NOT doing a good job questing.

36. Vvinni: You’re trying to hard. Stop it.

37. Exploding Goldfish Films. Check them out, why don’t you?

38. OH MY GOD, IT’S A BEAR!!!!

39. See. This is a documentary about Carpet!

40. Help! It took six months to make this!

41. I kill you both.

42. Andrew did this, I have nothing to say about it.

43. Eggs: A common motif of mine.

44. The world would melt were it made of cheese.

45. OH DEAR GOD IT’S ANOTHER BEAR!

46. One of the best of 1991?

47. I got the problem fixed, but now I can’t see my tongue.

48. That’s definitely a Bear.

49. Chickens, Money omelets, and axe-wielding.

50. Gum: It’s really a disappointment nowadays.

51. No, Bicycles!

52. Goodbye.

53. Ethan Holbrook: He Travels through time and Astronauts.

54. If you want to know more about Discouraging Words, then you should be reading the EXGfilms blog. I’m too busy posting movie reviews that are too long and Filler.

55. The cat represents life because we are all being held by the arms of fate that are attached to the torso of our decisions and that torso is the torso of another cat which, oddly enough, represents the plight of minimum wage worker at Wendy’s.  So, in conclusion: A Cat is a hamburger.

56. J’ai besoin d’étudier à un examen français.

57. Sharks.

58. Sharks.

59. Sharks.

60. Sharks.

61. Sharks.

62. Sharks and Film.

63. Sharks.

64. Skin Removal Cream, Skin Removal Cream, Skin Removal Cream. SKIN REMOVAL CREAM! Skin. Removal. Cream. Skin Removal Cream? Skin Removal Cream! Skin Removal cream skin removal cram, skin, removal cream. Skin Removal Cream. Skin Removal Cream. SKIN. REMOVAL. CREAM. Skin, Removal, Cream, Skin, Removal, Cream. Skin Removal Cream; Skin Removal Cream. Skin Removal Cream: If it weren’t a product, it would BUY YOU! SKIN REMOVAL CREAM?!!!!

65. It is five o’ clock, and so Tea Time is over.

66. A Surprisingly coherent corpse, unlike a certain other one coming up.

67. One of the best of Moon-related sci-fis of 2009?

68. THERE ARE TOO MANY BEARS ON THIS BLOG.

69. ❦

70. Something (A Post).

71. Discouraging Words: Coming Summer of 2010.

72. Nom nom nom nomnom nom nom nom. Nom nom nom nom nomnom nom. Nom nom nom nom nomnom nom. Nom nom nom nom nomnom nom. Nom-nom, nom-nom, nom-nom, nom-nom. Nom-nom, nom-nom, nom-nom, nom-nom. NOM NOM NOM NOMNOM NOM NOM NOM. NOM NOM NOMNOM NOM NOM NOM. NOM NOM NOM NOMNOM NOM NOM NOM. NOM-NOM NOM-NOM NOM-NOM NOM-NOM NOM.

73. I don’t even care what the next post was, THERE WERE HAMSTERS IN THE LAST ONE.

74. Let’s see… Was there a tiger in this one? No, just time travel.

75.  Nathan Fillion: A Man of many talents. Like being both an astronaut and cowboy. Also, being pure evil’s right-hand man and an award-winning novelist.  Truly he accomplished more in a lifetime than any man can.

76. Nick Vogt: A Man whose cat might be a monster.

77. Trail of Terror?

78. I can’t stop this feeling. Deep inside of me. Girl you just don’t realize what you do to me. When you hold me, in your arms so tight, you let me know everything’s alright. I-I-I’m hooked on a feeling. And I’m high on believing that you’re in love with me.  Lips as sweet as candy, your taste is on my mind. Girl, you got me thirstin’ for another cup of wine. Got a bug from you, girl, but I don’t need no cure. I just take your picture (?) If I can be sure. All the good times, when we’re all alone, keep up girl. Yeah, you turn me on. I-I-I’m hooked on a feeling and I’m high on believing that you’re in love with me, oh yeah. All the good times, when we’re all alone. Keep it up girl, yeah you turn me on I-I-I’m Hooked on a feeling and I’m high on believing that you’re in love with me. I said I’m hooked on a feeling. And I’m high on believing that you’re in love me. Yeah, I’m hooked on a feeling!

79. A whole new web is about to be spun, methinks.

80. Does this mean I might be the next Batman?

81. 100 Untitled pieces, most them involve things breaking.

82. Nathan Fillion: He also battle killer slugs from outer-space. Truly, he is a god.

83. Heart attacks.

• 84. OH NO, IT’S ANOTHER BEAR!!! THIS MAKES FOUR! FOUR BEARS!!!
• 85. Beat yourself with a 2×4.
• 86. OooOooOooOOOO Castles. SpoOOOoOoooOOky.
• 87. But doesn’t that explain us all?
• 88. I’m thinking of being Everything next year for Halloween.
• 89. Towed away at owner’s expense.
• 90. Vvinni: I’m thinking of a wall now to block their thought beams.
• 91. I am Rea-Gan! I am-Rea-Gan!
• 92. Don’t even think about coming to rescue me because I’m probably dead.

93. I just made another letter which I baked in the oven with a honey glaze. It was for Christmas.

94. Sword of Doom: One of the best?

95. Why did you kill this Lawn Ornament?

96. Wagga wagga wagga.

97. You’re tearing me apart, Mummy and Robot.

98. Ronald Q. Metellus: Man of Mystery and probably Sandwiches.

99. Joss Whedon: I wish you luck in your ventures outside of the television box, for I shall be on your side when all comes crashing down.

100. I- Oh no. I… I’m going to have to start this post inside of this post now… uh Okay. Here goes: WTIVVVVIMVJVTYVIZVSIHMIPHVWYIIITIIRVEOSHIAETOOITCGNGEITJSSSSSSSSIAOT❦DNILNNTIAD1NHOBOBITVIDISWWYRJ. I-On. I…Igthtstpiotpn… uO. Hg:

WIVVMJTVZIMPVYITIVOHATOTGGIJSSSSZTDINTA1HBBTIIWYJ. I-o. I… I… u. H:

IMP TIVO HAT DIDN’T HAVE. I. I… H:

Adapt vivid, thine moth. I. H:

AVTMIH:

01000001010101100101010001001101010010010100100000111010

000000010000100010001000100

.    .   .   .   .

⠂⠄⠠⠤

⠦

∴

…

-

0

∅

Thank you for existing.

I was trying to come up with some words that would express my feelings for your body of work, and I feel the above about sums it up.

And... is that a houndstooth tie? NO!

In a recent interview I had with one Andrew Gingerich about future filmmaking projects for the Making of documentary Stories From Sturgeon, Mr. Gingerich expressed dismay that there no one in television worked in the fusion of genres.  Well, Mr. Whedon, I believe we could both disagree with Mr. Gingerich’s remark as I feel one of your many strengths as a filmmaker is in the seamless fusion of two disparate genres.

In one of your most well known works, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example you were able to explain life using demons and vampires and ghosts. And that is neat.  In your cult television show Firefly you were able to integrate the Western and Sci-Fi genres incredibly well, incorporating common elements of civil war, isolation, expansionism, and the idea of “A Man and his Horse”.  This is also very neat.

However, simple genre integration, although super cool, would fail if it were written poorly.  Lucky for both of us that you’re not.  Yes, I heard some of your commentary on Buffy, and I was very glad to hear that you are indeed a smart filmmaker.  You’re also a very smart writer, as the characterization in all of the works of yours that I’ve seen is incredibly strong. It is because of these characters and these people that we are able to believe in your integrated worlds, and in a television dominated with shit like Heroes, it’s nice to watch a show that defines characters beyond “I JUST WANT TO FIT IN!” and “I’m bumbling and I’m a foreigner”.

So thank you Mr. Whedon. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Vvinni J. Gagnepain

PS: I suppose this post isn’t very useful, now is it?

A sory abou a psychoic swordsman in Feudal Japan.

Let’s sart talking about the movie.  Let’s star talking about the script.  It’s got a lot of scenes of talking and ploting, as do many Japanese films from this era.  Yes, it can be tedious, but it’s also inertwined with scenes of horrible hand-chopping violence.  Which is always nice.  As I said above, Sword of Doom combines elements of noir (an all around feeling of doom and dread), the ridiculous action (Sword fights, hand-chopping, sword fights, talk about fighting, and sword fights), Igmar Bergman (The talking and inaction), and the Japanese Ghost Film (this comes mainly through the subtex and what’s going on underneath the dialogue.  It also comes in the ghosts).  So we’ve got a script with heavy subext going on between the characters where one word from the main character (an unstoppable killing machine with a sword) can say leaps and bounds about his character.  Yes, it’s long, yes, there is a reason they’re called “samurai epics”, but DAMMIT I LIKE IT.

Let’s move on to acting, shall we?  The stone face is an acting technique hat can either make or break a film.  We’ve seen it put to excellent use in the films of Buster Keaton, in noirs such as In a Lonely Place or The Big Sleep, and even in films like Naked Lunch.  On the flipside we’ve seen terrible blank and flat performances from movies such as The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Decided to Stop Living and Become Mixed Up Zombies!!? and the television show “Heroes”.  So what is the difference between these two?  For, I would say Tasuya Nakadai, who plays Ryunosuke Tsukue (wielder of the Sword of Doom and the Silent Technique), provides a stunning stone-faced performance.  The difference between stone-face and flat (good and bad, undersated and “I found this guy on a stree”) I believe all boils down to what I feel is at the core of my acting philosophy: The eyes.  You do not act with your hands, or your face, or your feet, but you act with your eyes.  For the eyes are the gateways to your soul, and if you do not believe what you’re saying, if you are merely reading words off of a page in front of a whirring machine, then it will show in your eyes.  In Sword of Doom, when you look into Ryunosuke’s eyes you see a sociopathic detachmen, you see calculation and angst, you see… DOOM.

Finally, I’m going to quickly talk about the cinematography of the film.  Here we once again head into Bergman-esque terriory with bizarrely framed close-ups and even stranger medium shots where the frame is so deep you can throw a rock into the screen and it’ll fall forever until it hits the girl who standing sideways back there. Yet, these oddly consructed closer shots are mixed with Japanese new-wave wides as we’ve seen in the work of Kurosawa and Teshigahara.  The camera is staic and what maters in the frame is not our actors, but rather the atmosphere around them and the effect the characters have over the atmosphere. So now, it’s time for our favorite part of Withou the ‘s: My arbitrary assignment of a grade:

A film I should own.

I give it an A. The atmosphere this film creates is incredible, as it’s one of dread and mystery.  It’s a world that is unforgiving and evil, much like the “City at Night” of film noir.  Only, unlike noir, it’s a world hat is rooted in emptiness and nature, a world where person’s psyche becomes his environment and at the root of all of the characters’ minds is something dark and desructive.  Also, I rather like the melding of genres… and dropping names. Orson “Fucking” Welles… bitches (Sorry for the profanity, but I’m pretty sure tha’s what it says on his tombsone).